unwilling to die, when he is unqualified, by the abufe of his reafon, to do an act of intelligence. For all acts of grace and virtue, depend upon our letting all things be done with decency and comeliness: confidering this always, that tho' our feveral faculties under God be our own, yet we have not power to ufe any of them fo as to indifpofe them to the ends and purposes, ufes and employments, they were made and intended for in the moment of God's creation, We may no more do this, than we may destroy our own lives; and we do deftroy them if we abuse them. For what are powers and faculties, but in order to ufe, in order to their acts and objects? Fruftra eft potentia que non reducitur in actum; a power in nature is useless and to no purpose, except it be called forth to act. Therefore fobriety, chaftity, temperance, have their foundation in the nature of man; for fobriety and temperance are confervative of thofe faculties in us, which are to be employed in exercise of reafon, practice of virtue, and in acts of obfervance of God.

Mind and understanding in man, hath God's fuperscription upon it; and it is money belonging to God. And we must give to God, that which is God's. It muft not be fo abused, as to be unqualified for that which is its peculiar appropriate; as, ta receive from God, to be fenfible of him, make açknowledgments to him and returns upon him. Let not a man allow himself so, as to be at any time difabled to these eminent acts of piety and devotion. We must not give ourselves up, brutum pascere, ta feed the beast; to pamper the body and neglect the

foul.

foul. As the apostle hath it; living in pleasures, wantonness, nourished up for the day of flaughter. What a fhameful fight is it, to see a man difguis'd out of the use of reason, and disabled to govern himself, by his own fault? there is no fuch thing in the inferior creation for the creatures below us, except they be deceived, (for they are not able, as we are, to distinguifh) they fo ufe themselves as that they are always found themselves; and you never find them worse than themselves. A perfon difguifed by excefs, is a horrid prodigious monster. We are wont to call drunkenness a beaftly fin; but we bely the beafts, when we do fo; for there is no fuch thing with them.

Every fin hath its own punishment fooner or later." Sometimes malum paffionis, the evil of fuffering, follows after malum actionis, the evil of action, at fome diftance but always great inconvenience and mifchief accompanies this fin which is a home-evil. It was a good saying of St. Auftin; fecifti Domine, & fic eft, ut omnis inordinatus appetitus fit fibi ipfi pœna ; O God, thou wouldest so have it, and thou haft fo appointed it, that every inordinate appetite, the mifgovernment of ourselves, is a punishment to itself. But fudden evils do attend this fin; dethroning of reafon as to the interior man; and as to the exterior, what is more visible? Prov. xxiii. 29, 30. Who hath woe? who forrow? who contention? who babbling? who wounds? who redness of eyes? They who continue long at the wine. Whereupon he giveth good advice in verfe 31. Look not upon wine when it is red, &c. The provocations of appetites, are ́inftrumenta malo

rum

rum, verse 32. at last it biteth like a ferpent and flingeth like an adder. verfe 17. Be in the fear of the Lord all the day. verfe 20. Be not among wine-bibbers, and riotous eaters of flesh. verfe 21. The drunkard and glutton shall come to poverty. Ifa. v. 22. Woe to them that are mighty to drink wine.

To conclude. This I find, that not only the religion of God's creation, but also the gospel-religion doth require fobriety. That grace of God which bringeth falvation, teacheth us to live godly, righteously and faberly. Ephef. v. 18. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excefs. Let us therefore take warning by inftances in fcripture, to avoid others miscarriages, and fo to prevent the mischief they brought upon themselves *by running into excess. 1 Car. x. 6. Not luft as they lufted, and were overthrown in the wilderness. Pfal. Ixxviii. 30. while the meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of the Lord fell upon them, &c. Exod. xxxii. 6. They fat down to eat and to drink, and rofe up to play. And what followed upon it? three thousand men fell that day. Job xxi. 12. They take to themselves the timbrel and harp, and rejoice at the found of the organ; spend their days in jollity and mirth, and in a moment they go down to the grave. On the contrary, for a certain prefervative against excefs and immoderation, I propofe, and with that conclude; Pfal. cxix. 148. My eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word, to think of thee. Let us with David, be in the fear of God; let our minds be fixed upon him; referve mind and understanding for obfervance of God, and attendance upon him.

DIS

DISCOURSE XCVII.

The great inftances of wickedness.

PSALM V. 4, 5.

Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, &c.

T

Hefe words give us to understand the terms that are between God and his creatures. Some are very bold to make complaint of God, as if he ufed his creatures hardly, or as if his goodness were not fo great as fome would wish, or as scripture did declare. It is not the creature that God doth hate ; he takes no offence at them, but only as they are wicked workers of iniquity; thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, &c. Pfal. xlv. 7. God loveth righteousness, but he hateth wickedness; God hath no offence, nor difpleasure against us, as we are his creatures; for Pfal. cxlv. 9. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works. Do we believe what we ourselves do acknowledge of God in our publick worship? We tell God that he hateth nothing that he hath made, but inviteth all to repent, and rejoiceth when finners do return. It is an admirable place, Wifd. xi. 21. Thou loveft all things that are, and doft hate nothing that thou haft made; for if thou hadft hated it, why wouldst thou have made it? So that we fay, no man's application to God in any condition whatsoever, no man's faith in God meets with a

ny

ny difcouragement from any thing in respect of God. The Roman orator Cicero hath a saying to this purpose, A fuperis nulli impendent metus mortalibus; from the fupreme power above, there is no fear, no danger, no occafion of difcouragement to us mortals here below; we are not at all in danger in refpect of God's power, though it be irrefiftable; but we have encouragement from it rather, because it is in conjunction with infinite goodness, and fo may make acts of goodnefs more effectual. I will add but two places of fcripture, because I obferve this only by way of intimation. Acts x. 35. God is no refpecter of persons, receives no prejudice, is not difaffected towards any of his creatures; but in every nation, whofoever he is that fears God and works righteousness, is accepted of him. And if we confider the circumstances of the text, the scripture is more remarkable; for Peter was forced into this fenfe and acknowledgment by a mi-racle, repeated again and again; for this is contrary to the Jewish doctrine and opinion. The other placeis, Rom. ii. 6. God will render to every man according to his deeds; glory, honour, and peace, to every one that worketh righteousness; but to them who obey not the truth, tribulation and anguifh. Let us preferve ourfelves from the abomination of defolation, and a juft provocation of him and we may have great confidence in our maker. This I account to be of natu ral impreffion. Plato hath a brave difcourfe to this purpose; that that which is divine, cannot be hurtful: nothing of devilifh there: but grace, mercy and compaffion.